Safer Deportation Practices

March 14, 2014

I was so pleased last night when the President announced he has asked for a review of the administration’s enforcement policies for immigration laws to see if it can be done “more humanely within the confines of the law.” The president stated “his deep concern about the pain too many families feel from the separation that comes from our broken immigration system.” Amen.

Immigration reform this year is a top priority for NETWORK. We continue to urge Congress to pass a reform that unifies families and provides a path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants living in the shadows. As that process stalls, NETWORK, together with the Interfaith Immigration Coalition and Justice for Immigrants, has also called on the Obama Administration to review its deportation practices to make them more compassionate and safe.

Safer, more humane deportation practices include: stopping the practices of nighttime deportations, family separations during deportation process, and deporting individuals to unsafe locations; returning belongings prior to deportation; and notifying Mexican authorities about people with special needs such as unaccompanied children, elderly people, and people with disabilities. We also want more opportunities for border NGO input so NGOs can work more closely with U.S. authorities to better protect people. Click here to read more about these recommendations.

NETWORK and the broader faith community will work with the administration to push for the implementation of these common sense principles. More importantly, we will continue to stand with our brothers and sisters who suffer at the hands of our broken immigration system and press Congress to move beyond their indifference and embrace the call for comprehensive reform this year.